In reality, Randy Carlyle was a dead man walking ever since last summer. When the Toronto Maple Leafs brass fired Carlyle’s assistant coaches after their epic collapse of last spring, Carlyle became a condemned man on coaching death row. The Leafs finally dropped the pellets yesterday after Toronto’s latest stretch in which they lost seven out of their last nine games with Saturday’s 5-1 debacle at Winnipeg being the final straw.
Having emasculated Carlyle this past offseason, the Leafs sent the worst possible message to their entitled group of players who tuned out the coach long ago and realized that he was not for long with the Leafs. Current assistants Peter Horacheck and Steve Spott will split the coaching duties for the immediate future. But Carlyle was the least of Toronto’s problems.
A Culture of Entitlement
Winning hockey requires a commitment to defense. Playing defense is hard and requires maximum effort. Toronto ranks 29th in the 30 team NHL for shots allowed and 25th for goals against. Their numbers from last year were similar. The end of Carlyle basically began in the Leafs unforgettable game seven playoff loss at Boston in which their defense collapsed and blew a 4-1 third period lead as the Bruins went on to win in overtime 5-4. It was the last playoff game Toronto has played and they are in a precarious playoff position as of now with the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference just one point ahead of Boston.
Leafs Leadership Void
It begins with puppet general manager Dave Nonis, who is now the next condemned man that is as good as fired. Nonis is basically picking up team President Brendan Shanahan’s dry cleaning and making his coffee. He has no power and it shows. Since Nonis took over for the fired Brian Burke prior to the 2012 season he has done much harm to the team and his own image starting with the insane mega bucks deal to D Dion Phaneuf, the so-called captain of the team.
Phaneuf has lacked the credibility and respect to be an effective captain since hand-picked by Burke for the role after he arrived in a trade from Calgary. Phaneuf is not carved out for leadership of the NHL’s marquee franchise in its mega obsessed market. Beyond that Phaneuf is a number three, at best, defenseman that toils ineffectively in a number one role.
Phat Phil and the $64 Million Question
And then there is the putrid disgrace that is the $64 million man in RW Phil Kessel, the poster boy of what it means to be a Toronto Maple Leafs. Phil likes to take a month off each summer and live large while pigging out freely. He then shows up to training camp each September a bare minimum ten pounds overweight. When asked by Carlyle and Shanahan to move over to LW Kessel, being the ultimate team player, refused. Who can blame Kessel? After all the Leafs paid him the $64 million when intelligently run teams build around two way centers such as Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks and Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings.
The $64 million question is if the Leafs have the stones to hire a coach that will kick Phil “The Thrill” in his rear end or send him to the press box if he refuses to enter the back end and become a complete player. Kessel ultimately represents the soft and entitled Leafs culture of the inmates running the asylum. His lack of interest in the game is best evident by his well-earned reputation of being the first to leave practice in a rush each day. If only he was as committed to the back check.
Wilson Unloads Barrage of Truth
Before Carlyle arrived the Leafs were coached by Ron Wilson who also ended up being tuned out by the spoiled brats on the ice. Wilson went on an epic rant on Toronto radio after Carlyle’s firing and said that the Leafs are “uncoachable”
“You never change a leopard’s spots, and in this case I think you paint over some of those spots, but they’ll eventually shine through the paint,” said Wilson. “And that’s just too bad.”
Wilson also had the perfect description for Kessel stating that the $64 million man is “Two weeks on, and two weeks off…you can’t rely on Phil.”
The Spots of the Leafs Leopard
Those spots that Wilson refers to are an ugly eyesore. They are of a team that is pampered and care free, happy to collect their millions and play however they want. Their refusal to even try at the dirty work of defense is the ultimate indictment of their failure as a true contender. Ultimately it is the management of the Leafs that is to blame for building such a collection of prima donnas. At the end of the day they are indeed uncoachable losers.
Carlyle’s Leafs career was killed off yesterday. But don’t feel bad. He’ll collect millions and is free of the albatross that is Kessel and Phaneuf. You might say he has died and gone to heaven.
